SC/MLA Committees, 2000 Annual Reports

Bylaws Committee - 2000 Annual Report
October 16, 2000

The Executive Board at its meeting in May 2000 recommended the addition of a standing committee, Public Relations. A notice of the proposed amendment to include this committee in the bylaws was prepared for inclusion in the registration packet for the annual meeting. Since it was not included, the notice is available at the annual business meeting. If there are no objections to the amendment, a ballot containing the proposed amendment will be mailed to each voting member within thirty days following the annual meeting at which they were debated. As stipulated by the bylaws, the amendment will become effective on January 1 of the year following its acceptance by mail ballot.

The Bylaws committee had planned to review the current bylaws this year to ensure that they were in compliance with MLA model bylaws. Early in the year, MLA notified the committee that the model bylaws were being revised. This committee also supplied MLA with a copy of Southern Chapter's Bylaws upon request. The committee decided to wait until the revision was complete before untaking the task of reviewing this chapter's bylaws. This committee received the revised bylaws this month. A copy of these are included with this report. The review process will need to be done during the coming year.

Respectfully submitted by
Lois M. Bellamy
Chair, Bylaws Committee
Chapter Council- 2000 Annual Report
October 13, 2000

Chapter Council met in Vancouver on May 6th 2000 and SC/MLA was well represented. Our incoming alternate, Jan LaBeause, was present as well as the outgoing alternate/incoming representative Sarah Gable. Linda Garr Markwell our outgoing representative was there representing the Chapter for the final time. Linda Garr deserves recognition for the excellent job she has done on behalf of all of us these past six years. However, Linda Garr is not leaving Chapter Council. She agreed to be nominated for Chair Elect of the Council and was elected to that post. Also during the elections for CC nominees to the MLA Nominating Committee our candidate T. Scott Plutchak was one of six elected. All in all, it was a good day for Southern Chapter.

As usual the Council had a full-day agenda. I would like to report some of the highlights, but also refer to Linda Garr's printed report in the Summer 2000 issue of Southern Expressions, and a brief overview in the September 2000 issue of MLA News.

We began the day with visits from MLA officials. Frieda Weise, MLA President, talked to us about MLA's activities including:

Advocacy for the profession, especially hospital librarians. The public relations firm, PCI, has organized several focus groups and produced a poster and other materials in the registration packet
Legislation: lobbying on Medicare, copyright and against UCITA. (More information about UCITA on MLAnet.)
MLAnet: Members only pages are now available with more in development.
Task Forces: Three are underway, Membership, Publications and Cunningham Fellowship.

MLA President Elect, Michael Homan told us that his theme for the coming year would be: “Promoting a passion for the profession. Keeping our eyes on the prize.” He would like help from the chapters in crafting a new proactive vision for MLA. His goals include:

Developing a medical library certification and a technology track in CE programs.
Develop methods to effectively utilize the benchmarking and salary study data.
Develop an MLA fellow-in-residence program in am academic setting.
Promote the electronic BMLA.

Carol Jenkins, President Elect Elect also spoke briefly. She stated that she feels the President's role is to:

Identify and bring forward the compelling issues affecting the profession.
Establish processes to have thoughtful deliberations to arrive at methods of dealing with issues to achieve desired outcomes.

Carla Funk, MLA Executive Director talked about MLA activities. Presently MLA is in pretty good shape financially with some reserves to use for research initiatives. There has been some staff turnover and reorganization. Kate Corcoran is Director of Research and Information Systems. Beverly Bradley has been hired as Coordinator of Membership Services.

For the meeting a new meeting planner, PCI was hired. They have worked with a number of other library organizations.

The focus this year has been on research and recruitment, both into the profession and into the association. MLA has been looking at diversity issues for over a year. MLA and NLM will work together on a program like ALA's Spectrum program. (See scholarship information below.)

MLA's first health writer's seminar was held in Chicago, and others were held in Washington, DC and San Diego. An additional seminar is planned for Vancouver. This idea was developed by PCI, and the Washington seminar led to a write up in USA Today. M.J. Tooey suggested that perhaps the joint meeting in New Orleans might provide a good opportunity for another seminar.

Carla said that between 1500 and 1600 MLA members registered for the meeting and there were 700-800 exhibitors.

M.J. Tooey, Chapter Council Chair reported the following highlights of the board meetings:

With the increase the dues now make up 25% of MLA's revenue. This is felt to be an acceptable level. There were discussions of tying future increases into the cost of living.
The 2001 meeting will be held in Orlando, Florida over the Memorial Day holiday weekend. The Dolphin Resort will be the conference hotel.
The commercial arrangement with Doody's will not be continued. The MDConsult agreement was used by 89 libraries, the board is considering whether or not to continue. Blackwell's is offering their Health Library Review at a discounted rate.
Should MLA change the name of the Bulletin? What type of articles should be accepted for publication? Should the emphasis be on research?
Both the minority scholarship and the Spectrum scholar will be funded at $5,000. This due in large part to a $100,000 donation from the NLM to strengthen minority recruitment. NLM and MLA will jointly fund the Spectrum scholar.
The IT salary study results will be presented at the business meeting. (Presently available on the members only section of MLAnet.)
An open forum was held on the benchmarking initiative. Training for educators also took place at the meeting.
Section Council news-
- Section Council alternates will be phased out.
- Mental Health Section will become a SIG
- There is now an Internet SIG and a new Corporate Services Section
- The Afro-American Librarians group is now a SIG
- The Medical School Libraries Section name change will be voted on. (It is now the Leadership and Management Section.)
UCITA is the big legislative issue. Stands for the Uniform Communications Information Transactions Act. This will be voted on state-by-state and affects software licensing and the rights of libraries. (MLA will join other library associations in sponsoring a teleconference on this issue on December 13, 2000 from 1-4 p.m. Other information on the ARL web site and MLAnet.)
Chapters need to try to synchronize their meeting dates. Difficult for MLA officers and staff to visit when meetings are held at the same time.
The MLA News readership survey showed a high level of approval overall. Only minor changes were suggested.

Chapter Sharing Roundtables-Karen Albert and Pam Elwell reported a record number of registrants for the Chapter Sharing Roundtables. Total of more than 340 registrants to discuss 19 topics at 34 tables. (Results should be available soon on the Chapter Council portion of MLAnet.)

Home Page: Ginny DuPont reported that MLA would like to see more Chapters mount their web pages on MLAnet. Can offer secure services and better visibility. MLA would welcome ideas about how they can assist Chapters with their web sites. (There are now links on MLAnet to chapter web pages, officers, annual meeting, etc. MLA has also proposed standards for the chapter web pages. There are now links from MLA's front page directly to Chapters and Sections)

Continuing Education-Linda Garr Markwell led a workgroup that surveyed Chapter Council members, chapter chairs and chapter CE chairs concerning the demand for a Chapter Council sponsored symposium. Her summary report revealed that while there is potential need this should not be offered at MLA. A web based or traveling session would better serve the needs of the Chapters. This should deal with “hot topics” or important issues or support AHIP credentialing and should be reasonably priced. There is no intent here to compete with the MLA CE Committee.

Katy Nesbitt of the MLA CE Committee reported that $26,000 had been raised for the Lucretia McClure fund and thanked Chapter Council members for their assistance. She spoke of the desire to offer CE in a variety of formats, but cited the expense of web based courses and teleconferences. The CEC is setting up a clearinghouse of Chapter based CE courses.

Marsha Kmec reported only a 10% response to the Chapter Uniform Needs Assessment Survey. They showed a decrease in the interest in journal clubs and that people like teleconferences but are unwilling to host them.

Credentialing-Pat Gallagher of the Credentialing Committee reported that all forms are now on MLAnet except for a few that are required for provisional membership. These will be added soon.

Elections-In addition to Scott Plutchak, others selected for the MLA Nominating Committee were Marianne (Puckett) Comegys, Anna Habetler, Laura Gerwitz, Nancy Press and Patricia Thibodeau.

Former Chapter representatives still on the Chapter Council listserv are reminded to unsubscribe.

There was lengthy discussion on Chapter finances. Many chapters are running in the red. We felt fortunate that Southern Chapter is in sound financial condition.

There was also lengthy discussion on the Benchmarking initiative and the problem of participation by hospital libraries that do not have institutional membership. This is an important initiative that will supply vital statistical information needed by hospital libraries. It was decided to go to the Hospital Librarians Section for their opinion concerning institutional vs. individual membership participation. Feel that individual members can still supply necessary data about their library.

MLA provides money for travel by the officers, but it is nice if chapters can pay something. Officers should not be required to pay for registration. Chapters should have guidelines for this.

Additional items of interest:
October is National Medical Librarians month. The theme is “On site, on line, on top of the latest health information.” If you have creative ideas that you are using to promote your library consider submitting them to MLA's NNLM Creative Promotion Award contest. You could win a $100 gift certificate good toward the purchase of MLA services or publications. Entries are due to MLA headquarters by Nov. 30th.

A form was made available in the September issue of MLA News and is available on MLA's website to fill out in order to volunteer for MLA activities, particularly on committees. You are strongly encouraged to fill it out and become more involved in the organization. The deadline for submission is October 31st.

Working with the Chapter Council representatives from the South Central and Midcontinental Chapters we have already submitted invitations to and received acceptance letters from Chair Elect Carol Jenkins and MLA Executive Director Carla Funk for the joint 2001 meeting.

A recommendation by Tom Singarella that the Chapter Council formulate planning guidelines for joint chapter meetings was forwarded to M.J. Tooey, Chapter Council Chair.

On Nov. 15th the Medical Library Association is hosting a teleconference entitled “The Effect of E-journals on Your Libraries." This is part of the “Myth and Reality of Electronic Publishing” distance-learning program. Although the registration deadline was Oct. 20th for early registration, you may still register as a host site for a slightly increased fee. There is information about this on MLANET.

The Board of Directors at its fall meeting approved amendments to the Model Bylaws for use by Chapter and Sections. Amendments were made to:

Reflect the restructuring of Section Council.
Remove requirements that standing committees be listed in the bylaws.
Address the issue of chapter/section dissolution.

The Continuing Education Committee has conducted two short surveys to learn more about what MLA members need in terms of CE. They are investigating a web based learning program for members. Oct. 15th was the closing deadline.

Respectfully submitted by
Sarah Gable, Chapter Council Representative
Jan LaBeause, Chapter Council Alternate

Communications Committee - 2000 Annual Report
October 16, 2000

Pat Higginbottom as the Web Coordinator has done an excellent job of keeping the Southern Chapter web page up-to-date.

Ingrid Hendrix & Sondra Pfeiffer have published four issues of Southern Expressions that were excellent. The total cost of publishing Southern Expressions for 2000 is $3,322.34. The issues have continued to be full of news around the chapter. The editors have also added a job opening list to the newsletter. A copy of Pagemaker 6.5 was bought to help with the newsletter.

Respectfully submitted by
Cecelia Delbridge
Chair, Communications Committee

SC/MLA Website- 2000 Annual Report
October 3, 2000

Since the last report in May 2000, the following pages have been added or updated on the site:

The strategic plan was updated
Committee listings were updated
A page with links to SC region library schools was added
Submission form for position descriptions available was added
MLA Books panel call for proposals was added
2000 Annual meeting information has been updated
The chapter and newsletter logos were revised and updated

After the annual meeting, the submitted annual reports for each committee will be added to the page. A goal for the next six months is also to get committee manuals and the chapter chair's report to MLA on the web page in accordance with the chapter's strategic plan.

Page Count 5-14-00	Page Count 10-3-00	Total page hits
4,672	5,874	1,202

It was suggested at the last Executive Board meeting that we look at registering www.scmla.org to use as the address for the chapter home page. After investigation we learned that our University would not host pages that do not use the www.uab.edu address with extension. There was discussion through the Executive Board electronic discussion list about moving the page to another university without such a restriction-if one could be found in the region or moving the page to a commercial ISP. It was agreed that it would not be worth the time, trouble, or cost to move it and the idea was tabled to be investigated again at a later time.

Chapter officers, committee chairs and members are encouraged to use the web to promote chapter activities, disseminate information, or ask for input.
Respectfully submitted by
Patricia Higginbottom
Website Coordinator

Southern Expressions - 2000 Annual Report
October 5, 2000

Sondra and I have been very lucky in that we haven't had to beat the bushes for material for Southern Expressions. In fact, we usually have the opposite problem of trying to figure out how to fit everything in!

At the Board's suggestion, we raised the font from 9 point to 11 point - to make it easier on everyone's eyes. We also tried to add more pictures and graphics to make it more visually appealing. We would like to continue to encourage people to send us pictures or graphics to go along with their articles. Please indicate who the people are in the pictures, since we don't always know.

Ingrid published all the issues until the last issue (fall), which Sondra did. Despite a steep learning curve with PageMaker, she did a great job. Thanks to Martha Verchot for her technical support.

Expenses for the issues:

Volume 16, No.1, Winter 2000
Printing Costs - $556.00 - printed at Kinko's because of all the pictures in this issue.
Mailing costs - $200.32
3 Boxes of envelopes = $ 62.64
Total cost - $ 818.96

Volume 16, No.2, Spring 2000
Printing costs - $369.95
Mailing - $254.45
Envelopes - $62.64
Total Costs - $ 687.04

Volume 16, No.3, Summer 2000
400 Photocopies - 400 x .15 = $60.00 (for flyer insert)
Printing at Kinkos - 400 copies = $ 838.00 (a lot of pictures from MLA)
Mailing cost - $253.76
Envelopes - $62.64
Total costs - $ 1214.40

Volume 16, No.4, Fall 2000
Copying - $394.20
Envelopes - $22.85
Stamps/Mailing - $274.89
Total costs - $601.94

Total costs of producing Southern Expressions in 2000 = $ 3,322.34

In addition, Southern Chapter bought a copy of Pagemaker 6.5 for Ingrid at a cost of $288.
Keep those articles, pictures and graphics coming and help us make the next issues even better!

Respectfully submitted by
Ingrid Hendrix
Co-Editor, Southern Expressions

Credentialing Liaison- 2000 Annual Report
October 18, 2000

The Southern Chapter has approximately 162 members at various levels of the Academy of Health Information Professionals (May 2000).

Provisional	9
Member	25
Senior	46
Distinguished	82

A revised report (Oct. 2000) shows Southern Chapter has 170 members with 12 who expired in 1999. Of the 67 Southern Chapter AHIPs due to expire in 2000, 36 have renewed. Good news!

During the year, I have answered numerous questions from Southern Chapter members interested in the Academy and from members preparing new or renewal portfolios. I conducted an AHIP session during the Greenville Southern Chapter meeting where Sharon Cann, a member of the Credentialing Committee, was available to give first hand knowledge as a portfolio reviewer. Ms. Cann also assisted me with the AHIP session at the March Georgia Health Sciences Library Association meeting in St. Simon's Island. Eileen Stanley, Credentialing Committee member, will attend the Sunday AHIP session scheduled for the Mobile meeting. Ms. Stanley is the speaker for the Mobile meeting's Hospital Librarians luncheon and her topic is AHIP and the Hospital Librarian. I thank the Program Committee for including the AHIP session in their planning.

Articles were written for two Southern Expressions issues. There is a notebook to pass on to the next liaison. A goal to have credentialing represented on the Chapter's web site was not met, my onus not Pat Higginbottom's.

I attended a two Credentialing Committee meetings at MLA and an AHIP session. I was the facilitator for the Professional Development Roundtable sponsored by Chapter Council at MLA. A written report was submitted.

I trust I have been helpful to Southern Chapter members who sought my assistance on AHIP issues.

Respectfully submitted by
Sandra Franklin
MLA Credentialing Liaison

Governmental Relations Committee - 2000 Annual Report
October 12, 2000

The goals for the Governmental Relations Committee for 2000 included the following:

Continuing to work on the state medical library advocacy networks;
Publishing a column in Southern Expressions on legislative issues;
Publishing information on how to contact legislators and how to write letters to them in Southern Expression
Maintaining representation on the MLA Governmental Relations Committee.

Although progress on the state medical library advocacy networks has been slow, efforts have been made to recruit participants for this initiative, and it has been added as a short-term goal in the Strategic Plan. The committee has had a column in every issue of Southern Expressions, including one addressing the means of contacting legislators as specified in Goals 2 and 3. I am also on the MLA Governmental Relations Committee (Goal #4).

Our primary focus of lobbying efforts was again on the various copyright legislative actions, although other issues, such as the closing of NTIS and budget cuts to the federal depository library program and the Library of Congress, also attracted our attention on occasion. While there was nowhere near the legislative activity concerning copyright issues that there was in previous years, one major concern for libraries involves the Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act (UCITA). UCITA is a proposed commercial law providing a unified approach to software/database licensing, which Maryland and Virginia have already passed and other states will soon be considering. Unfortunately the "unified approach" of UCITA is problematic for libraries on numerous points, including limiting the ability of libraries to negotiate licensing contracts, while making it easier for software publishers to control “downstream” uses of the information, including educational and research uses. Several library organizations (including MLA) are joining together to sponsor a satellite videoconference on UCITA on December 13th which will present a “primer” on UCITA and strategies for lobbying in the states (see http://www.arl.org/ucita.html).

I will step down as chair of this committee as of the SC/MLA Annual Meeting, and Connie Machado of Rowland Medical Library at the University of Mississippi will take over leadership of the committee. I have enjoyed my term as chair, and I'm grateful for the continuing support of the Southern Chapter leadership and members. I look forward to my continuing participation on the Governmental Relations Committee as the Alabama representative.

Respectfully submitted by
Kay Hogan Smith
Chair, Governmental Relations Committee

History Committee - 2000 Annual Report
October 17, 2000

Apart from normal business, the committee has been relatively inactive this year.

Mary Lynch and I are continuing to keep the archive and its inventory current. A copy is always available upon request.

I have one item to discuss at the business meeting: What does the executive board think about the possibility of placing a copy of the inventory on the web page for anyone to download? It would be easy to produce an updated pdf file or a stand alone database for users to download.

In connection with the archive, I would like to express my appreciation of Mary's work as our Southern Chapter Archivist. Her willingness and collegiality have been instrumental in transforming boxes of accumulated papers into an organized and usable archive, and in time for the chapter's 50th anniversary celebration. As the opportunity presents itself, I hope that you will take a moment to say thanks to her.

Respectfully submitted by
Richard Nollan
Chair, History Committee

SC/MLA Archivist- 2000 Annual Report
October 17, 2000

During the past year, the materials in the SC Archives were unboxed and organized in their new location within the Health Sciences Center Library at Emory. As part of this process, materials were weeded, duplicate items were discarded and various files were consolidated. The archivist determined that much of the contents of the Conference Chair notebooks from earlier years could be discarded: only the final reports of the Conference Chair and the various conference subcommittees (exhibits, hospitality, local arrangements, etc.) were retained and added to the appropriate files.

New items added to the archives in 2000 include the MLA Chapter Chair's manual and photographs taken at the 1999 annual meeting in Greenville. Gaps in committee reports have been filled thanks to contributions of various chapter members. Issues of Southern Expressions that are presently lacking in the archives will soon be obtained, thus completing the archives' holdings of the chapter newsletter!

In 2000, the archivist responded to two questions from chapter members. In addition, information was provided to the Chapter Council Representative for completion of a survey about archives of MLA chapters. This raised some issues for possible discussion in the future:

policy for electronic archives
chapter supported archival training for the archivist
adding the archives inventory in pdf format to the chapter web site.

In the coming year, after the photographs that are presently on loan are returned to the archives, a goal will be to store them using methods more suitable for their preservation.

Respectfully submitted by
Mary Lynch
Chapter Archivist

Honors and Awards Committee - 2000 Annual Report
October 10, 2000

Several retirees have been identified this year and will be honored at the Annual Meeting. The retirees include Donna Trainor, Judith Hodges, Edith McHenry and Joan Lukins.

One of the primary responsibilities of the Honors & Awards Committee is the processing of nominations for Honorary Membership. Individuals wishing to nominate someone for Honorary Membership should send a nominating letter and a resume of that individual to the Chairman of the Committee. The Committee presents the names of the nominee(s) to the Executive Committee for approval. No additional paperwork or forms are required. A second route to Honorary Membership exists. Honorary Membership is also awarded to anyone residing in the geographical boundaries of the SC/MLA who becomes a Medical Library Association Fellow. This award is made regardless of Chapter affiliation.

An Honorary Membership was awarded to Carol Burns. She was nominated by T. Mark Hodges and was unanimously approved by the SC/MLA executive board by an electronic mail vote. A plaque will be created with this year¹s date but will be presented next year, as Carol will be out of the country for this year¹s meeting. Her honor will be announced at this year¹s meeting.

An Honorary Membership was also awarded to Ada Seltzer upon her being named a Medical Library Association Fellow. This award was made in compliance with the Honors & Awards guidelines.

No Academic Librarian of the Year Award will be made this year.

Susan Selig from Tennessee was appointed to replace Kelly Hensley. Several new members will need to be added in 2000-2001. A new chairman will need to be appointed also.

Respectfully submitted by
Marcia A. Reinhardt
Chair, Honors and Awards Committee

Hospital Libraries Committee - 2000 Annual Report
October 20, 2000

Hospital Librarian of the Year 2000

A flyer and call for nominations was published in Southern Expressions
Descriptive criteria reside on the SC web site
The recipient was selected.

Martha Watkins Scholarship

A flyer and call for applications was published in Southern Expressions
Descriptive criteria reside on the SC web site
Two awards were issued.

Hospital Librarian's Luncheon
Eileen Stanley, former IAIMIS Apprentice, Center for Biomedical Informatics, University of Pittsburgh, and member of MLA Credentialing Committee, will speak on professional development opportunities, including AHIP, at the Hospital Librarians' Luncheon.

Respectfully submitted by
Mary Fran Prottsman
Chair, Hospital Libraries Committee

Membership Committee - 2000 Annual Report
October 19, 2000

As of October 18, 2000 Southern Chapter membership reflected the following:

Renewed Members	276
New Members	35
Honorary Members	12
Total Membership	323

Members not renewing 34

A Welcome packet has been prepared for new members.

The mentorship program was successful in attracting mentors. Fifteen mentors volunteered, (and I applaud you), but only two mentees are available.

Every effort is being made to attract more mentees. To date two Library Schools have been targeted. These are
South Carolina School of Library & Information Science and Clark Atlanta School of Library & Information Science.

In a few weeks, I shall be attending a meeting with the President of the Student Chapter of the American Library Association. This meeting will be held at the School of Library & Information Science, Clark Atlanta University.

Respectfully submitted by
Lynette Ralph
Chair, Membership Committee

Membership Database - 2000 Annual Report
October 16, 2000

Highlights:

Mailed invoices in January
Sent e-mail notices to non-renewals for follow-up
Kept SoChap-L owner up-to-date on e-mail addresses
Provided mailing labels for newsletter
Provided mailing labels for one-time use by Rittenhouse (for $150.00 fee)
Provided mailing labels for Annual Meeting, including MLA lists
Provided copy of database (current member addresses) to meeting planners
Provided mailing labels for election ballots
Assisted Strategic Planning committee in review of plan
Provided lists of committee volunteers to committee chairs
Prepared directory and mailed to 1999 and 2000 members
- Approximate cost each $2.03 plus $.99 postage
Provided mailing labels to Bill Postell for 2001 joint meeting

Membership :

Paid 1999	311
Honorary	12
Total 1999	323

Dues collected $6,240.00

Expenses $1671.83

Respectfully submitted by
Linda Flavin
Chapter Membership Database Manager

Nominating Committee - 2000 Annual Report
October 17, 2000

The nominating committee is proud to present the slate of officers for Southern Chapter 2000-2001. After much deliberation and consideration the following candidates received votes qualifying them as our candidates of choice. Each candidate agreed to accept their nomination, therefore the 2000-2001 proposed slate of officers is comprised of:

Chair Elect -- Janet Fisher, East Tenn State Univ.
Secretary /Treasurer -- Brenda Faye Green, UT Memphis
MLA Nominating Committee Candidate -- Sandra Franklin, Emory Univ.

Biographical information was collected from each candidate following MLA and sent to the secretary/treasurer along with a ballot for distribution to the membership. The ballots were distributed to the membership in August and 114 ballots were returned. There was one write-in candidate for secretary who received 1 vote. 113 votes were cast in favor of the proposed slate. The slate will be presented at the business meeting at which time nominations will be accepted from the floor. If no nominations are brought forth the proposed slate shall be presented for adoption.

Many thanks go to the committee for their diligent work in selecting the 2000-2001 slate of officers.

Respectfully submitted by
Rosallind K. Lett
Chair, Nominating Committee

Professional Development Committee - 2000 Annual Report
October 16, 2000

The Professional Development Committee has put together a diverse and exciting roster of courses for the annual meeting. This report will give the course name, instructor's name and affiliation, and number registered for each course at the time this report was submitted.

The Saturday courses are:

Bringing Your Library's Resources to the Web (HANDS-ON)
Chandra Alston, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Computing and Technology Division
22 registered

Quality Filtering: Principles of Evidence-Based Medicine
Nunzia Giuse, Rebecca Jerome, Sandra Martin, Marcia Epelbaum, Vanderbilt University Medical Center Library
10 registered

Using New DOCLINE (HANDS-ON)
Beth M. Wescott, National Network/Libraries of Medicine, Southeastern/Atlantic Region
15 registered

The Tuesday courses are:

Building and Managing Your Digital Library
Scott Garrison, Duke University Medical Center Library
20 registered

Serials Management
Jett McCann, EBSCO Information Services
12 registered

Keeping up with NLM's PubMed (HANDS-ON)
Toni Yancey, National Network/Libraries of Medicine, Southeastern Atlantic Region
7 registered

Management Basics
Dr. Robert Bennett, III, Department of Management, University of South Alabama
7 registered

The committee will meet during the Annual Meeting to begin working on a Policy and Procedures Manual.

Respectfully submitted by
Brenda F. Green
Chair, Professional Development Committee

Program Committee - 2000 Annual Report
October 16, 2000

Traditionally, the SC/MLA Program Committee is chaired by the Chair-Elect and consists of six to ten SC/MLA members who are geographically dispersed across the chapter. However, as the 2000 meeting is a joint meeting with the Alabama Health Libraries Association, the Program Committee was necessarily skewed toward Alabama with seven of the twelve members being from Alabama. The Program Committee in toto never had a face-to-face meeting, as most business was facilitated via e-mail, telephone and a Program Committee electronic discussion list set up for us by Pat Higginbottom, SC/MLA Webmistress. Lynn Fortney, Susan Williams, Janice Debose, Judy Burnham, Sally Murray and Tom Williams were able to meet together two or three times in Mobile in conjunction with the Conference Committee.

The program theme was relatively easy to come to terms with, thanks to Judy Burnham recommending the "jubilee" idea. By late 1999, the Program Committee had been appointed and agreed that "Anniversary Jubilee" would be the theme. The conference colors are purple (for Mobile's Jubilee and Mardi Gras), gold (for the 50th meeting of SC/MLA) and emerald green (for the 20th meeting of ALHeLA). EBSCO graphic artists graciously designed the logo for us at no charge. In case anyone missed this explanation, "Jubilee" is an unexplained Mobile phenomenon in which fish and shellfish literally jump onto the beaches to be gathered up by the multitudes to be put into jambalaya and gumbos (and the freezer).

In keeping with the celebratory nature of this theme, the program committee sought speakers and posters who would celebrate the medical library profession for the many contributions we make to our organizations. Over almost a six month period of time, six or seven potential keynote speakers were contacted, made a tentative commitment, and then had to back out due to scheduling conflicts. Finally, Tom McMullen of the Hay Group, who played a central role in the recent MLA study of librarians' salaries, agreed to be the keynote speaker. Scott Plutchak of UAB and Mary Lillian Randall of North Mississippi Health Systems used their personal influence to persuade C.W. Goldsmith and Jan Englert to discuss librarians' contributions to the larger organization. Kathy Torrente was responsible for the "history panel" of Bill Postell and our own T. Mark Hodges. Janice Debose is coordinating the PR Marketplace, Andrea Batson is coordinating five contributed papers sessions (20 papers total), and Sally Murray is coordinating the poster session (15 posters total). Mary Fran Prottsman invited Eileen Stanley to speak to the Hospital Library Section and Susan Williams was able to get a local author, Carolyn Haines, to be the speaker at the ALHeLA luncheon. As a final wrap-up, five current officers of SC/MLA will serve on a panel to discuss the nature of leadership.

Anticipated expenses are $6,000.

Respectfully submitted by
Lynn M. Fortney and Susan D. Williams
Co-Chairs, Program Committee

Research Committee - 2000 Annual Report
October 12, 2000

The Committee continued to heighten funded research projects conducted by Southern Chapter institutions. Helvi McCall and Marcia Epelbaum have been the contributors to the Research Spotlight during the last year.

The Research Committee obtained the Southern Chapter's Executive Board approval to increase the annual research award from $500 to $1,000. The award has been advertised in the latest issue of Southern Expressions and through the association's list-serv. Committee members will be reviewing proposals upon receipt.

Members of the Southern Chapter Research Committee will be exploring the possibility of collaborating with MLA's Research Committee in order to accomplish initiatives of common interest. In addition, the Committee will be working on a project of promoting research presentations of the 50th Annual Meeting by creating structured abstracts of presentations and making them available through the Southern Chapter web pages.

The Research Committee will have three vacancies at the end of this term.

Respectfully submitted by
Marcia Epelbaum
Chair, Research Committee

Strategic Planning Committee - 2000 Annual Report
October 16, 2000

The committee is chaired by the Past-Past Chapter Chair and consists of the Chapter Chair, Chair-Elect, and immediate past Chair. The Database Manager is an ex-officio member. Other members of the Executive Board are also considered part of this committee.

The SC/MLA Strategic Plan, approved in October 1999, was updated on the chapter Website. The Committee reviewed planning documents from other MLA Chapters, ALA, and several state library organizations as background material for revising our chapter's plan. In early summer, members of the Executive Board made suggestions for improving the plan. In July, the Committee plus Chapter Council representatives discussed these changes during a two-hour conference call.

The consensus of the Committee was that the plan had grown into a long, unwieldy document and recommended a major overhaul. Although the information in the plan is valuable, much of it is more appropriate for procedure manuals. Unfortunately, many of the procedure manuals have been misplaced over the years. . Some committees found it difficult find out what they were supposed to accomplish during the year.

The Committee recommends the following general changes:

Change the name of the planning document to The Southern Strategy
Revise and streamline the plan to focus on current, major strategic goals
Evaluate each action with a deadline of “ongoing” or “annually” and consider moving from the plan to a procedure manual.
Provide up-to-date copies of all committee and officer procedure manuals on the chapter Website
Add goals and strategies for fiscal responsibility and planning. Tom Singarella has prepared a draft section. See #36 below.
Add goals and strategies for public relations. Linda Garr Markwell and Nancy Clemmons have gathered background information. See #21 STRATEGY B.06 below.

Other Recommendations. (Note: Some sections will be moved to appropriate procedure manuals):
1) Change: ACTION 1.A.1.d - Encourage all members to take the initiative in their libraries and organizations to achieve continuing professional development by expanding their roles within and beyond the library.
2) ACTION 1.A.1.e. Delete
3) ACTION 1.A.3.a. The Professional Development committee will compile the calendar of educational opportunities and the Communications Committee (Webmaster) will publish on the Web page.
4) ACTION 1.A.4.a - Administer MLA's Chapter Uniform Needs Assessment survey Revise Timetable: Annually 1998- 2001 (as requested by MLA)
5) ACTION 1.A.5.a. Add Chapter Council to the Personnel.
ACTION 1.A.5.c Delete
6) New :ACTION 1.B.2.b Provide list of library schools within the Southern Chapter boundaries on the chapter web page with links. Personnel: Chapter Webmaster Timetable: December 2000. (Accomplished)
7) New: ACTION 2.A.1.b Add section about Benchmarking in 2.A., Personnel: Benchmarking Liaison,
8) STRATEGY 2.A.2 - Maintain links/liaisons with other MLA chapters and/or sections supporting research in health information science. Delete
9) ACTION 2.A.2.c - Maintain a Southern Chapter Research Committee web page and link to MLA Research Committee web page.
10) GOAL 3 . Delete.
11) New: STRATEGY "Improve membership involvement in health information legislative issues" ACTION: "Establish a grass-roots medical library advocacy network in each state legislative district, with members committed to responding with letters and/or calls to their representatives as directed by the Governmental Relations Committee Chair. Timetable : December 2001
12) ACTION A.02.a - Revise and maintain officer/committee chair manuals. Personnel: Chapter Chair, Executive Board Timetable: Ongoing, by Annual MLA meeting of each year
13) STRATEGY A.02.b New: ACTION Publish procedure manuals on chapter web site. Personnel: Communications Committee. Timeline: December 2001
14) ACTION A.04.c. Educate committee chairs on who appoints committee members and the fact that Database manager has database of committee volunteers. Personnel: Database Manager, Chapter chair. Time: Ongoing
15) ACTION A.10.a *Host State Rotation Schedule based on the following order: FL, TN, GA,MS, SC, AL; with PR/VI every 10 yrs
1996 Tennessee (Memphis)
1997 Georgia (Savannah)
1998 Joint with Midwest Chapter (Lexington, KY)
1999 South Carolina (Greenville)
2000 Alabama (Mobile)
2001 Joint with South Central Chapter (New Orleans)
2002 Tennessee (Nashville)
2003 Florida
2004 Georgia
2005 Puerto Rico/Virgin Islands
16) Modify. ACTION A.11.a - Help develop guidelines for joint meetings with other MLA chapters .and explore possibility of having those guidelines endorsed by Chapter Council and published on the CC Website. This should include financial, programmatic and facilities planning procedures. Personnel: Executive Board, Past Chapter Chairs, Chapter Council. Timetable: 2001
17) ACTION A.11.b - Offer to host a joint meeting in a state within our Chapter boundaries Personnel: Executive Board, Chapter Council. Timetable: 2002-2007
18) ACTION A.12.a - Continue weekend annual Southern Chapter meeting and survey the membership through SO-CHAP and Southern Expressions to ascertain if this arrangement should continue. Personnel: Executive Board, Local Arrangements Committee, Program Committee, Timetable: December 2000
19) ACTION A.14.d - Complete Southern Chapter history, Personnel: Chapter Historian Timetable: 2001 (MLA Deadline - February 1999)
20) ACTION B.01.a - Publish newsletter at least three times, preferably four times, per year in both print and electronic format. Incorporating photos when possible. Personnel: Communications Committee. Timetable: Annually
21) NEW: STRATEGY B.06. Create a Public Relations Committee as a permanent standing committee. to: 1)Publicize the Southern Chapter and its activities, both internally and externally by promoting knowledge and information about libraries, librarians and health science libraries in particular, 2) increase the visibility of health sciences librarians and public awareness about the field of health sciences librarianship, 3) encourage health sciences librarianship as a career choice. ACTIONS: Prepare a model press release for notifying media, CEO's, bosses about awards, Use local media and local publications to provide information about the Chapter and/or its members, participate in career fairs, publish chapter officer information in the local business newspapers, Solicit press coverage and submit feature articles to local newspapers, publicize the chapter awards by announcing the recipients in the local newspapers or business journals/newspapers. Write notice/article when members are elected to a national office. Establish liaison with MLA/SLA for annual information, Use MLA AHIP brochures. Timetable: 2001
22)ACTION B.01.d - Offer Southern Expressions in electronic format. Personnel: Communications Committee. Timetable: 1999/2000. Accomplished. Delete.
23) Change: STRATEGY B.02 - Continue to publish a membership directory each year.
24) ACTION B.03.d - To create a members-only section on the chapter web page for placement of documents considered to be benefits of membership. Personnel: Communications Committee, Membership Committee, Executive Board, Timetable: 2001
25) STRATEGY B.04 Add Chapter Council to Personnel,
26) STRATEGY C.02. Investigate Membership recruitment goals.
27)ACTION C.05.a - Update packet to include welcome letter from ADD: information about listserv, copy of newsletter
28) ACTION C.08.a -ADD Credentialing Liaison to Personnel
29) New: C.09.b. Recognize students and new members at the annual Southern Chapter business meeting, Personnel: Chapter Chair, Timetable: Ongoing
30) ACTION C.14.a. Accomplished. Delete.
31) Change: ACTION C.18.a -Substitute Solicit nominations for Publish criteria.
32) Change c.18.1: Substitute Solicit nominations for Publish criteria.
33) ACTION C.18.b - Accomplished. Delete.
34) ACTION C.19.a - Solicit nominations for an Academic Librarian "award for excellence" Personnel: Honors and Awards Committee Timetable: Ongoing
35)ACTION C.19.b - Develop a policy that identifies the method of selection of candidates in lieu of nominations. Personnel: Honors and Awards Committee Timetable: 2001
36) New Fiscal GOAL: Ensure fiscal health of the SC/MLA both presently and for the long term. OBJECTIVE 1: Maintain a balanced budget. STRATEGY 1: Maintain a balanced budget, where annual revenues exceed expenses. ACTION 1: Maintain at least $10,000 in the main checking account of the Association, under the auspices of the bookkeeper, with checks and balances as appropriate (e.g., signature authority). ACTION 2: Major programs of the association (e.g., annual meeting) should submit a projected budget proposal for approval by the Executive Committee at least one year in advance.

OBJECTIVE 2: Provide for unanticipated expenses. STRATEGY: Maintain a separate reserve fund upon which the principal will remain intact to provide a fiscal cushion for the association in time of need (e.g., annual conference fiscal loss). ACTION: Maintain an interest bearing reserve account of at least $15,000, of which the principal will remain intact. If it becomes necessary to draw upon this money in time of need, plan accordingly to ensure that within 3 years of withdrawal the entire principal will be replaced in the reserve account. An additional reserve account may be used to maximize interest and accessibility. These two accounts should not exceed a cumulative total of $25,000.

OBJECTIVE 3: Ensure that special funds/accounts of SC are administered and expended in a fiscally responsible manner to meet the needs of the association. STRATEGY: Ensure that SC money is used to conduct valid association business to benefit the membership and the profession. ACTION 1: Communicate the written budget to the membership at the annual business meeting. ACTION 2: Special funds for scholarships (e.g., Martha Watkins account) should be placed in a separate account; a minimum balance (e.g., $10,000) should be maintained to facilitate high interest growth, and to support the specific objectives of the fund (e.g., scholarships) in perpetuity by using only the interest, with the principal remaining intact.

We want to make sure that we do not lose valuable information that is in the detailed plan. Since it will take at least a year to make the transition to a new version, the October 1999 plan will remain on the Website until all procedure manuals are complete and published on the Web. Once the transition has been completed, it will be time to look with a fresh eye at The Southern Strategy!

Respectfully submitted by
Nancy W. Clemmons
Chair, Strategic Planning Committee